Claudia's Post - Nancy Drew Life
by Queen of Spiritual
Summary: One day, Claudia started getting bored reading Nancy Drew all the time. Would she find somebody new to read to meet new characters?
1. Chapter 1

Note: I'd like to thank mcpon14 for coming up with the title for this fic. Hope you all like it!

Claudia started getting bored reading Nancy Drew all the time. Until now, she was starting to think if she needed to find new people to discover, along with their characters. Claudia had known Nancy Drew mysteries for several years. About a month or so ago, she'd been searching for new characters to meet.

"I think it's time you and I say good – bye," Claudia said sadly as she went through the last book, which was _The Bungalow Mystery. _

It was one of her favorite books in the series and was now starting to know the story by heart. When she got to the last page, she could feel tears coming down her cheeks as she slammed the hardcover book shut.

She was still in tears when suppertime arrived. Janine, her older sister, saw the tears coming down Claudia's face.

"Are you all right, Claudia? You look like you just lost a friend," her mother told her.

"Maybe a friend did," Claudia told her mother.

"Is this something got to do with your baby – sitting friends?" Janine asked.

She saw Claudia shake her head.

"Is this friend somebody we know?" her mother asked.

She saw Claudia shake her head.

"Is this friend somebody we know?" her mother asked.

"No, Mom," Claudia answered.

She didn't want to mention to her family that the friend was Nancy Drew, but did remember her parents never approved of the Nancy Drew series. She also didn't want to tell her older sister.

She did feel a bit silly about crying over a fictional character, but it was true. Claudia had a baby – sitting job at Mallory's house from eleven to six. Mallory was going to help her look after her siblings. Janine could guess this person Claudia had lost recently was a fictional person.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day arrived. Claudia left sometime before eleven that morning. Her parents did not have to work that weekend, so they were anxious to find out why Claudia was in tears the previous night. While watching the kids with Mallory, Claudia told Mallory, "Mal, I have some news to share, and I'm not very happy about it."

"What happened?" Mallory asked.

"Nancy Drew and I closed up our relationship just yesterday. What can I do about it?"

"Crying over a made – up character is quite dumb, Claudia."

"I know, but Nancy Drew has been like a close friend."

"I understand that, Claudia. If she was my character, I would feel the sad myself," Mallory said understandably.

Mallory loved to write and wanted to be a famous writer one of these days.

"What do you think I should do?" Claudia asked.

"I have an idea."

"What's that?" Claudia asked.

"I know a writer you might like. He is a popular murder mystery writer."

"Who is his character?" Claudia asked with curiosity.

"Spenser. He is the main character in the series. His creator is Robert B. Parker," Mallory answered.

"Oh. Give me a title and I'll check it out for myself."

As Mallory grabbed a pencil and paper, Claudia's parents learned from Janine her thought was it could've been a fictional person she was saying good – bye to.

"Do you have any idea who?" her father asked.

"Nancy Drew," Janine answered.

Janine's answer was correct. Her parents did see that once they entered Claudia's messy room, they searched all over the bedroom as neat as they could. They searched every place they could think of. It turned out Janine was right.

They looked at one another and didn't say a word. They zipped their mouths as they stacked the Nancy Drew books. He asked Janine to help them with Claudia's books. So Janine did. The library was open until five – fifteen that Saturday, so Claudia would see if they had any books from Robert B. Parker and she could tell Mallory what she thought.

She had luck – the library did have a few titles. The one Mallory had written down for her was titled _Walking Shadow. _She flipped through a few pages and saw it did sound interesting. She decided to read the back of the book to see what it was about. This is what she saw:

In a shabby waterfront town, an actor is shot dead onstage. Granted, the script left much to be desired, but there's more behind the scenes than an overzealous critic – and Spenser and Hawk are combing Port City's underworld to find it.

Again, Claudia put the book back in the shelf, but it didn't interest her enough to check it out to bring home. So she got up to leave the library. Once she walked into the house, she went immediately to her room and decided to phone Mallory about the book.

"Hi, Mallory," Claudia said and she picked up on the other end.

"Hi, Claudia."

"I went to the library. It did have the title you mentioned, but it doesn't interest me to bring back home," Claudia told her.

"Sorry to hear that, Claud."

"At least you tried. I'll find something."

The girls hung up seconds later. She heard Janine slam the garage door. Claudia walked down to see Janine.

"What were you doing?" she asked.

"Mom and Dad went through your bedroom and decided it was time to get rid of the Nancy Drew books, so they are in the dumpster," Janine answered truthfully.

"What!" Claudia screamed.

Again, Claudia put the book back in the shelf, but it didn't interest her enough to check it out to bring home. So she got up to leave the library. Once she walked into the house, she went immediately to her room and decided to phone Mallory about the book.


	3. Chapter 3

Claudia, Mallory and the other girls were in Claudia's room since it was a Wednesday afternoon. Kristy called the meeting to order.

"Any new business?" Kristy asked.

Claudia watched as Mallory nodded.

"Yes," Claudia spoke up.

"What is it?" Mary Anne asked.

Claudia could feel tears coming down. And she cleared her throat.

"Well, I don't know how to say it, but-"

Claudia still couldn't get the words out. She saw Mallory's eyes asking if it was better if she told their friends. Claudia nodded.

"Did somebody die?" Dawn asked, who also saw the tears.

That's when Mallory spoke up.

"What Claudia is trying to say is that her parents finally got around by figuring out the hidden Nancy Drew books."

"You have to be kidding me!" Stacey said.

Claudia nodded.

"I am helping Claudia search for new characters she would like as much as she did with Nancy Drew."

"How are you progressing on the search?" Mary Anne asked.

"We started just recently," Claudia answered.

Mary Anne usually came prepared to bring a Kleenex or two, so she gave one to Claudia. Claudia thanked her.

"Since you like to write, you could help come up with a few ideas," Jessi told Mallory.

"How many ideas have you come up with?" Kristy asked, who was still interested in the conversation.

"Robert B. Parker, Patricia Cornwell, Johnathan Kellerman, and Karen Kijewski," Mallory answered.

None of the girls recognized any of the names.

"Have you tried any of them yet?" Dawn asked.

"Not yet," Claudia told Dawn.

"Oh," was all Dawn could think of to say.

In the next few minutes, the girls were busy with phone calls from clients. It was now six o'clock and the girls ended their meeting.

"Sorry about the news," the girls said on their way out and gave Claudia a hug.

Then she headed to the bathroom and put the tissue in the trash.

Note: I usually don't read Cornwell, but I thought it would be a name for Claudia to check out in this fic. I am nearing the end in a book from Karen Kijewski at the minute but it's a pretty good story but I'm familiar with the names I mentioned in this new update. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Note: This 'Beauty Contest Murder' is on my fictionpress account as well so you'll see why I didn't get the names mixed up. Hope you have time to go over there on my page and check out the stories. Bill Thompson is an OC on my fictionpress account so he's not for real.

The next day, Mallory was with Claudia at the public library. Claudia knew this search was getting nowhere and it was getting boring as well. She wasn't so sure what to do now if there wasn't anyone interesting in the mystery genre for her to try. She sighed a loud sigh but not loud enough for everyone in the library to hear. Claudia wanted to get this over with and soon.

"Thanks for being here, Mal," Claudia whispered.

"You're welcome. I hope we can find somebody," Mallory said.

Claudia hoped so. She was disappointed about her parents throwing her Nancy Drew books into the dumpster. She wondered how they figured that one out without anyone not knowing where she kept the books. It also made her wonder if her parents found out about her eating junk food and keeping it well – hidden. That she'll have to find out.

Mallory thought she found a writer Claudia might like. Mallory waved her over.

"What?" Claudia whispered.

"I think you might like this guy," Mallory whispered back.

"Who is he?"

Claudia had never heard of this writer whose name was Bill Thompson.

"A mystery writer."

"Oh."

The book was titled _The Beauty Contest Murder. _Claudia laughed silently to herself that the title sounded strange.

She and Mallory both read the summary of the novel. It wasn't one of his latest novels, both girls could tell. Mallory opened the paperback book.

She saw the copyright said it was printed in 1996.

"Long time ago," Claudia whispered as she saw Mallory nod her head.

"True," Mallory whispered back.

"Think we should give him a chance?" Mallory asked.

"I think that title sounded strange."

"I agree, Claudia, but I guess he had his own ideas."

Mallory and Claudia read what the book was about:

At a pageant she was involved with, Lynda Conway tries to solve the murder of a victim that was part of the contest. Would Lynda be able to find out the name of the victim and who the murder was?

Unlike a lot of fictional writers, Bill tried to keep his summaries on his books short so he wouldn't do any spoiler alerts. Mallory could tell that made sense.

"Should we take this one, Claudia?" Mallory asked.

It was the only copy of the book left in the shelf.

"Okay. It better be good," Claudia said.

"We'll find out but what it was about sounded interesting," Mallory whispered back.

The two girls headed to check the book out.

Claudia and Mallory headed to Claudia's house. Claudia thanked her friend.

"You're welcome. Anytime, Claudia," Mallory said, "and let me know what you think of it."

"Will do," Claudia told her.

After she said that, Claudia shut the door in her bedroom. She opened to chapter one. Before reading the first word of the book, Claudia thought to herself, 'This better be good.' Then she turned to the first word in the book. This is what she saw on page one:

_Rain was raining lightly as Lynda Conway drove away from the gas station. Her son, Sam and her daughter Michelle should be with the neighbors. Both son and daughter were a bit young to stay home alone. Sam was eleven and Michelle was seven. Lynda pulled into the two – car garage once the garage door opened automatically._

_There was no need to drive the car to her neighbors' house since they were right next – door. After unbuckling the seatbelt, Lynda climbed out of the passenger's seat. She grabbed the keys out of the ignition before locking the car. She thought she'd leave the garage door open so she and the kids could walk through together._

_Walking to her neighbors' house, which was a two – story house with a one – car garage, a gate, garden, kitchen, bathroom, living and dining room, you name it. To tell the truth, her neighbors weren't rich at all and neither was she. The house she walked to at this minute happened to be a house of a cop._

_Lynda pushed her brown hair away from her face. The hair was only shoulder length but it got wet because of the rain. While ringing the doorbell, Lynda felt her feet tapping on the 'welcome' mat. The deputy's wife came to answer the door. She was pretty for someone in her early fifties._

_Lynda noticed the woman looked like she was in the middle of a bath because she saw the woman's red hair was wet and she had a royal blue towel over her waist. The woman looked like her hair was starting to turn gray._

_"Hello, Lynda. Won't you come in?" she asked._

_"Thank you, but maybe next time, Melanie. I came for Sam and Michelle."_

_Lynda watched as Melanie yelled to Michelle and Sam their mother was here. That's when she heard footsteps. The kids ran to greet Lynda._

_Lynda said, "What do you say to Mrs. Brown?"_

_"Thank you," both said in unison._

_"Thank you for what?" Lynda asked._

_"Thank you for letting us stay," Michelle said._

_"You're welcome."_

_Lynda and Melanie said a quick good – bye once Sam and Michelle walked out, backpacks in hand. Michelle's backpack had the Disney princess theme while Sam's was a sports theme. The three walked into the kitchen without a word. Sam and Michelle probably ate supper. She'd recently judged a beauty pageant here in Las Vegas this afternoon._

_The show she was at today was a big deal, but it was supposed to continue tomorrow. She'd enjoyed the outfits she hadn't liked. This was the kind of job title she had – beauty pageant judge. She'd often share pictures of the beautiful girls on facebook. She hadn't yet posted on facebook._

_It was time Sam and Michelle get a start on their homework. All of his life, Sam had dreams of becoming a detective. He'd had fun watching crime shows on TV and read thrillers. He usually did figure out who the culprit was. He was now reading a new paperback of James Patterson's Alex Cross novel._

_She then asked Michelle and Sam if they had done their homework yet._

_"Yes, Mom. We did it while waiting for you," Sam told her._

_"Oh."_

_She usually let Michelle and Sam eat supper at Melanie and Dennis's house if it got too late for her to come home to do the cooking._

_While Sam and Michelle were under the covers that night, Lynda logged on to her facebook so she could share with the public the pictures she took while at these types of pageants. Lynda had been doing this kind of job for over nine years now and had loved this job since then._

_She'd share five pictures from today's show. One picture was with a teenager who recently had a haircut, but it was nice since she had her hair layered. The teenaged girl had on light purple high heels, light tan socks, a pair of star earrings, a necklace, and a red polka dot dress._

_Another picture she showed was a thirty – ish old college girl with two pairs of pierced ears along with a fur coat made of silk, curly blonde hair neatly washed and combed, a dress that looked to be more of a special occasion only type of dress. It was black and had a sapphire on one side and the other side had a pearl. The outfit looked a bit pricey but she thought it was lovely._

_After finishing up on posting the fifth picture, she heard on the radio there had been a murder._

_"We now interrupt this program. Sheriff Edwards had just stated there was a shooting at Treasure Island an hour or two ago. The body was part of a beauty contestant when there was a bullet shooting from the other side of the door._

_"She happened to be in her thirties. Today she was wearing a two – pair sets of earrings, fur coat made of silk, curly blonde hair neatly washed and combed, a dress that looked to be more of a special occasion only type of dress. It was black and had a sapphire on one side and the other had a pearl and the outfit was a bit pricey. The name of the victim has not been released."_

_side and the other had a pearl and the outfit was a bit pricey. The name of the victim has not been released."_

_Lynda turned the radio off. She looked at the picture. Sheriff Edwards had just described. It was contestant number five. That's when she let out a scream!_

_Claudia was now interested in what made Lynda scream. She did notice the first chapter was a bit on the short side, so she turned to the next page which was:_

_The next morning, Lynda showed up to see if the contest was still going to be in progress while she judged the show this afternoon. The acting sheriff, her next – door neighbor, Deputy Mitchell was on the scene once she arrived._

_"Good morning, Lynda," he greeted her._

_"Good morning," she returned._

_"I heard what happened about last night," she told Mitchell._

_Sheriff Edwards had been out-of-town for a few days to go on a jury duty here in Las Vegas._

_"The news is all over town, Lynda. Even made this morning's headlines," he told her as he shoved it quickly in her hands._

_She saw the front page. So Mitchell was right and he wasn't joking, either. The headline read: CONTESTANT DEAD.' She always had hated this kind of thing when victims like the contestant who had entered this contest murdered._

_One of the contestants in this year's pageant, was shot the previous night. She had recently entered this contest that was going to continue in the next few days. Lynda Conway, one of the judges, had been a judge to all the past years until today had been involved in the past murders that took place. The bullet that was aimed at the contestant was small. The police have no new information at this time. For now, the contestant's name is to remain unidentified._

_The writer who wrote this short piece of what happened last night used the name Jessica Anderson. Jessica was well – known. Lynda wanted to help solve this mystery. Sam and Michelle had school today, so there was no reason to have them around this kind of violence. Not today, anyway._

_She decided to ask Mitchell if today was still on._

_"Is today's show still going to continue?" she asked._

_"I'm afraid not, Lynda. It will have to wait until this is solved," he said, pushing his long bangs out of his face._

_His hair was a light – red color. The sign of him needing a haircut was bangs in your face._

_"Do we know anything about the person who shot her?" Lynda asked._

_"Nothing yet. It's a bit too early to figure this one out. When we have an answer, we'll let you know."_

_"Thanks. I'll stay tuned."_

_After that, she drove away. She got back in today's cold weather when she parked her car in front of a bakery. The bakery, Jones and Brown, was small. Costumers would come in and stay if they pleased._

_The bakery had a drive – thru. It was nothing fancy. Lynda had never been through it herself. She waited in line for her turn. She was hungry for a donut and wanted coffee to go along with it. Her turn had arrived. Lucas Jones was behind the counter this morning._

_"Good morning, Lynda. What can I give you today?" he asked in a professional tone of voice._

_Lucas had the bakery's work clothes. The shirt said 'Jones and Brown Bakery' with a matching apron both were the usual boring white. He wasn't tall for his age, she could tell._

_"We heard what happened about last night, Lynda. This pageant started a couple of days ago, didn't it?" he asked, pulling a glazed donut with sprinkles._

_He handed her the donut and then headed to pour the coffee._

_"I heard about it on the radio myself last night, Lucas. I tried to get more info earlier, but no avail."_

_"We're curious as much as you are, Lynda. Good luck to you on this case," he told her as she paid $3.75._

_"Thanks, Lucas. I'll need it."_

_"Good day, Lynda," he called as he watched her leave._

Now she was hooked. She'll call Mallory now and let her friend know she was already into the book. So she did. She picked up her phone and called Mallory. Of course, she was home. Vanessa, one of Mallory's sisters yelled to Mallory that she had a phone call. As usual, she spoke in rhyme. Mallory took the phone from her sister. She watched as Vanessa left.

"Hi, Claudia," Mallory said.

"Hi."

"Any luck with the book yet?" Mallory asked.

"That's why I'm calling, yes."

"Are you into it yet?" she asked.

"Another yes. Thank you for helping me out. I would like to get into the third chapter," Claudia told her.

"Let me know when you get to the end," Mallory said.

"I plan to do that."

That's when both girls hung up. Claudia was happy that Mallory had introduced her to somebody new. She read the short biography on Bill in the book. Here's what she read:

Bill Thompson is a mystery writer. He was born and raised in Washington, DC and has a wife named Tina who is a chef and owner at her Mexican restaurant. They have one son named Ken who is thirteen. He lives in Detroit, Michigan with Tina and Ken and now is currently working on his next novel.

Claudia saw his book didn't mention he was #1 New York Bestseller like several writers were. She did find his biography interesting. Once she finished his book, she'd go to the library and see for herself if his first book was there. She thought she'd start from there and see if she'll keep reading the series. She thought to herself, 'You have a new fan, Bill. I look forward to your other novels.'


End file.
